Steve Hackett reflects on Genesis departure

Guitarist Steve Hackett admits seeing Genesis achieve mainstream success after he left the band was a “difficult period”

Steve Hackett has reflected on his departure from Genesis in 1977.

The guitarist was with the band for seven years, eventually leaving just days before they released their Seconds Out live album.

He’s gone on to enjoy a successful solo career and has also toured extensively playing the music of his former band. But when asked if he was surprised when Genesis achieved mainstream success in the years following his departure, Hackett says it caused him to take stock.

He tells EonMusic: “That was a difficult period for me. I had my own band, I was touring, and I eventually got a hit single myself – but it seemed as if Genesis was a well-oiled machine by then that was garnering a tremendous amount of publicity.

“I had to remind myself of the reason why I left, and it was to explore new paths and to boldly go on my own. For me, it’s always been about the music – it can’t be about the numbers, it can’t be a number crunching exercise.”

He insists he wouldn’t have added anything to 1986 Genesis album Invisible Touch, but says of 1981’s Abacab: “I probably would have played some slide guitar on it or something. I remember Mike Rutherford saying when Peter Gabriel had a hit with Solsbury Hill, ‘I would have liked to have played twelve-string.'”